Undecided
by FourofSpades
Summary: Katniss Everdeen is starting her freshman year at a university a long way from home, in a major she's not sure she even likes. In comes some people who, like her, aren't sure where their lives are going. Can they figure it out together? Or will their futures remain undecided? Modern AU.
1. Chapter One

**_September, Freshman Year of University_**

Katniss took a deep breath as the elevator doors slid open to reveal her dorm floor. Swallowing thickly, she stepped out onto the patterned red carpet and pulled her bags behind her. Bright, colourful doors contrasted the plain gray walls that surrounded her, each marked with a number and the names of the girls sharing the room.

She heard excited squeals echoing from inside some of the dorms she passed, and briefly wondered if that was how she and her roommates would greet each other.

Would they be nice? Rude? Would they have any classes together? The paper she clutched so tightly in her hand held no clues, and simply held her room number, and both girls' names.

She reached the end of the hall, and turned to look at her new front door.

16H

Katniss Everdeen

Johanna Mason

Margaret Undersee

Just looking at the other names scared her.

Clutching the strap of her black duffel bag tightly, she straightened her back, and knocked on the door. There was no answer at first, then some shuffling could be heard from inside.

"I'll get it!" a voice offered, _a male voice,_ she noted.

To her surprise, she was met by a shirtless boy. He grinned at her, and ran a hand through his messy blond hair.

Flustered, she opened up her paper to see if this was the right room.

"You must be Madge's other roommate." The boy said, an amused smile gracing his lips. "She's been dying to meet you. Katniss, right?"

She could only manage a nod. She couldn't trust her speech at a time like this.

"I'm Peeta Mellark, nice to meet you."

They shook hands, and he stepped aside to allow her in. Just as she entered the room, another girl stepped out from the bathroom. Wearing a white lace dress, and her blond hair pulled back in a matching white bow, she was the vision of perfection.

"The girls next door are interesting, they just—oh, hello!" the girl exclaimed when she caught sight of Katniss. She broke out into a warm smile and waved. "You must be Katniss. Sorry, I hope Peeta wasn't bothering you too much."

She flashed a warning look to the boy, and he grinned sheepishly before taking a seat on the couch.

"Actually, he was being a perfect gentleman." Katniss said, feeling Peeta's stare on her back. "And you must be Margaret."

She rolled her eyes. "Officially, yes, but everyone calls me Madge." She gestured to the three doors lined up along the far wall, and Katniss caught sight of one marked with a black K. "Those are the bedrooms. We share a bathroom and living room with the girls next door, and we have a fridge, microwave, and coffeemaker in the kitchen as well."

The room was larger than she had pictured, and the bay window on the side gave way to a great view of the city below.

Katniss nodded her approval and set her bags down in front of the door. "It looks great. I didn't think a dorm would be this big."

"It pays off to attend the best university in the country," Madge laughed, opening the door to the bedroom.

Stark white walls greeted her, accompanied by an empty mattress and a bare closet. "What do you think? I mean you can always move the furniture, and once you put all your stuff in—"

"I love it," Katniss interrupted. The room was simple; which suited her just fine. She placed her bag on the bed, and sat down to take in her surroundings.

"I'll leave you to get settled in," Madge said, beginning to back out of the room. "I was thinking of going out for dinner tonight, would you like to come? I've already convinced Johanna to skip the clubbing for tonight."

"If I'm settled in by then, I'm all for it."

Madge grinned. "Fantastic!" With that, she closed the door behind her and silence surrounded her.

Glancing around at her bags and boxes, Katniss took a deep breath and began to set up her new home.

* * *

Madge reappeared at 7:00pm donning a pair of jeans and a blue blouse. Her hair remained in its ribbon, but it suited her nonetheless.

"Are you ready to go? She's waiting down in the lobby."

"Just about," she replied, slipping on her brown jacket, a going away gift from her father. Slipping on a pair of black flats, she stood up. "Let's go."

They took the elevator down to meet Johanna, who wasn't too hard to find.

A girl whose attire screamed rebellion stood by the doors and argued with a taller guy, who Katniss thought to look familiar. Peeta was trying to pull the two apart with the help of his other roommate, a bronze-haired gentleman who had more sex-appeal in his finger than she had in her whole body.

"What has she gotten into now?" Madge said, shaking her head as they approached the group. To her dismay, Peeta dragged the other boy out the doors before Katniss could get a good look at his face.

"Calm down, Jo. There's no need to pick fights with everyone you meet." The remaining boy said, pulling Johanna aside. He made eye contact with Katniss at that moment, and shot her a wink.

"Don't hit on my roommates, Odair. They're off limits." Johanna said, shrugging out of his grip. She nodded in acknowledgment to her and Madge before brushing herself off. "Don't worry, I'm doing you two a favour."

"Or just ruining my fun," he teased, and extended a hand out to them. "I'm Finnick, Finnick Odair."

"The one in the braid is Katniss, and Blondie is Madge. Can we get going now?" Johanna snapped, slapping his hand away. He looked offended for a brief second before a smirk slid back onto his face.

"We should get going, the restaurant's about a five minute walk." Madge said, breaking the present silence in the room.

"I look forward into running into you ladies again," Finnick said, bowing slightly at the waist. He flashed them a final smile before disappearing down the hall.

"Friend of yours?" Katniss asked Johanna who simply rolled her eyes.

"You could say that."

Madge glanced down at her phone, and nodded at the two of them.

"Let's go, girls. Our table awaits us."

* * *

They had dinner at one of the trendy Italian restaurants downtown, Cornucopia.

Conversation flowed well throughout the meal, and the girls really got to know one another. Katniss learned that Johanna was a Law and political science major, while Madge was studying literature and early childhood education. The three of them had more in common than previously thought, and ended up staying out until midnight for coffee and dessert.

"You know, you guys aren't as bad as I thought." Johanna said as they arrived back at the room, "Which makes living with you a hell of a lot easier."

"I could say the same for you, Mason." Katniss laughed, slipping her heels off and draping her coat over the hook. Madge shook her head and laughed.

"Goodnight you two," she called out over her shoulder as she entered her room. "Orientation is tomorrow, and we need to be up early."

"Thanks, mom." Johanna teased, closing the door behind her.

Katniss waved and nodded. "Night, Madge."

"Goodnight, Katniss."

She closed the door softly behind her, and changed into her pajamas before slipping into bed. The sounds of the city could still be heard below, and it was oddly comforting.

Though she was a long way from home, in a town where no one knew her name, it wasn't as terrifying as she first thought.

Tomorrow would bring new challenges and an unpredictable future, but now she knew she wouldn't have to face it alone.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I'll update when I can, but I am still in school so I may just do a weekly post.**

 **Who do you want together? Let me know what you think.**

 **Till next time,**

 **~FourofSpades**


	2. Chapter Two

**_September, Freshman Year of University_**

"Rise and shine, Kit Kat." A voice cooed, awaking Katniss from her slumber. A shake was administered to her shoulder, punctuating each word.

"Don't call me that," she yawned, shoving the intruder's hand away from her. A laugh sounded, followed by the door closing. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she was met with the smiling face of Madge Undersee. "What time is it?"

She seemed unfazed by Katniss' grumpy nature. "7:00am and we have our first classes in two hours!" She chirped, sounding like a morning talk show host. How she was able that amount of energy in the morning was beyond her. "I made toast for breakfast, would you like some?"

Katniss nodded drowsily, still not quite awake.

Madge hopped up and opened the door. "Great! Annie's eating in the living room, I can't wait for her to meet you!"

"Wait, who—"

Madge closed the door before she could finish, and Katniss huffed in annoyance. Sliding her legs from out beneath the covers, she stretched out her back and walked over to the window.

The morning rush had started below, and cars zoomed by as people made their way to work. Cracking the window open a bit, she let in a cool breeze that followed her as she got ready to greet the day.

What were she supposed to wear on her first day?

Jeans? Shorts? A dress was out of the question, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to try something new…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and a tiny girl with dark curly hair popped her head in. Her shockingly green eyes roamed the room briefly until she found Katniss and offered a meek smile.

"Sorry, Madge sent me to get you. I'm Annie," she said with a small wave. "Katniss, right?"

"Oh, you're Annie!" She said, remembering Madge's statement last night about the girls they shared a bathroom and kitchen with. She was as pretty as she had been described, and according to Madge, one of the sweetest people she'd ever met. "Tell Madge I'm coming, I just need to find an outfit first." Katniss smiled, relieved now that she actually had an idea of who was in her room.

Annie laughed, and stepped into the room. "Can I help? I love dressing people up." After receiving a nod, she bounced over to the closet and began rummaging through her clothes. "What were you thinking of wearing?"

"I wasn't. I'm not good at his kind of stuff. My sister's the fashion genius." She laughed, remembering Prim planning her outfits for months because she had no sense of style. She felt her smile slip at the memory of her sister, but quickly forced one back on.

"Oh I'm sure you have a nice taste in clothes," Annie said, brushing her off. She pulled out a pair of jean shorts and a simple green blouse. "Pair this with a necklace and you've got yourself a killer outfit."

Katniss nodded, impressed that Annie had been able to pick up on her personality so quickly.

"Now come on, I think if we take any longer, Madge will come to kill us."

* * *

"I can't believe we have Psych together," Annie said as she and Katniss sat down in the large auditorium that was quickly filling up, "Then again, it is a class of 1700 so chances are you know _someone…_ "

"I still can't believe they have classrooms this big." She replied, fiddling with the end of her braid. "It's like, the size of my high school back home."

"Oh, I know. It's terrifying, but it's kind of exciting at the same time. Meeting all these new people, and getting the real university experience, you know?"

Katniss shrugged, knowing that the cons outweighed the pros in this situation. "I guess."

Annie rolled her eyes and nudged her playfully. "Oh lighten up, will you? 1698 other people in this room, which means tons of new guys."

"Oh yeah, because they'll definitely want to date me." She said sarcastically. She was never one to go out on dates, because a) Boys didn't like girls like her, and b) The ones that did were assholes.

"What? Boys love you! Just this morning Madge was telling me about how Peeta—"

She froze mid-sentence, trying to find something to cover up her almost-slip.

"Shoot. Uh, not Peeta. I didn't say that."

Katniss raised an eyebrow. "Peeta what?"

Her eyes darted around, when they fell on the perfect cover up. She spotted Peeta standing near the entrance and internally sighed in relief. "Peeta's here!"

He turned around at the sound of his name, and flashed a smile at the two of them. He jogged up the stairs to their row, and took the seat next to her.

"Oh hey Annie, Katniss." He greeted, nodding to each of them. "I didn't know you two were in Psychology."

"Part of the requirements for Pre-Med." Annie shrugged, "Easiest class in my opinion."

He turned to Katniss and cocked an eyebrow, "And you, Katniss?"

She hesitated a brief second. "Uh, same thing as Annie."

Both seemed shocked at her response.

" _You're pre-med?_ " Peeta asked in disbelief. After seeing the slight change in her expression, he quickly backtracked. "Not that you aren't smart enough to be a doctor, it's just that you don't seem like one?"

His face was bright red at that point, and Katniss laughed, easing his rambling embarrassment.

"I'm from a family of doctors," She explained, "And my mom wants me to join in on the family legacy, or something like that, by studying medicine. She wanted me to be a Neurosurgeon at first, but I managed to talk her down from that one."

"Can't you just tell her you don't want to be a doctor?"

"What makes you think I don't want to be a doctor?"

"Do you want to be a doctor?"

"Well, no but—"

Peeta chuckled. "Just tell her, she'll get over it eventually. I thought my parents nearly disowned me when I told them I wanted to take Visual Arts, but my they're pretty cool with it now."

"Oh yeah, your mom is the epitome of cool," Finnick commented, sliding in on the other side of the girls. He shot them a wink, turning on the charm that she was quickly growing accustomed to. His eyes locked on Annie's and he flashed her a dazzling smile. "Well, hello there, beautiful. I'm Finnick Odair."

Annie flushed a light pink, and offered a small smile in return. "Annie Cresta, nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Katniss could have sworn she caught his cocky mask slip for a moment as he answered, but the smirk was back before she could blink.

The rest of the auditorium had filled without them noticing, and they were now sitting in the middle of a sea of nervous young adults. Conversation carried on lightly, only to be cut short by the presence of their new professor.

"Welcome to freshman Psychology, or better known on campus, Frosh Psych. You can call me Professor Abernathy, Mr. Abernathy, Mr. A, I frankly am too hungover to care."

Katniss laughed along with the other chuckles that echoed in waves around the room.

"Some of you are here by choice, and some of you are just trying to earn your credits. Whichever category you may currently fall under, I can guarantee that you will walk out those doors in a few months as one group. You see, this class differs from the other classes that you may take this year, next year, or the rest of your lives.

Every other course studies the way we, as humans, have lived. History, anthropology, biology, you name it. All focusing on what we appear to be, or what we have been. That's the beauty of learning Psychology. You don't analyze the neurons that fire in your brain, or how long ago the Roman Empire crumbled.

You will leave here, as a group that did not just learn from the class, but have been changed by it. Because I don't teach the textbook, no, I teach life."

The room became quiet, including the group of jocks who had been snickering earlier in his speech. Mr. Abernathy let the silence hang for another moment before quickly breaking it.

"While you let that sink in," he smirked, pausing to turn the projector on, "Here's your first assignment."

* * *

"Katniss, over here!" Madge called out, waving her over to their cafeteria table. She took the empty seat in between Peeta and a girl with a messy brown bun that she'd never met before.

"That's Clove, and that's Glimmer," Madge introduced, pointing out the girl beside her, and a blond girl touching up her makeup at the other end of the table. "The other three boys will be here soon, they just had to run out to get the keg for tomorrow."

Katniss nodded, though she wasn't quite clear on what tomorrow was. Luckily, Annie covered that one for her.

"What's happening tomorrow?" she asked, confused.

"Gloss Emmans is hosting a frosh party at his house off campus," Finnick explained, and Katniss noted that he had chosen the seat next to Annie. "All students invited."

"So anyone can just waltz into his house and party?" Peeta asked, frowning, "That can't be safe, I mean what if a serial killer came in and—"

"How would a serial killer even find the house?" Katniss asked, laughing lightly at his worries.

"I don't know, maybe he's just wandering about the neighbourhood and stumbles upon the party."

Johanna snorted. "Yeah, that's going to happen."

"You never know, maybe—"

"I'm here!" a deep voice called out, cutting Peeta's next argument off.

Katniss' ears perked up at the sound, and her mind made the connection a split-second before he came into view. Her heart started beating a mile a minute. It couldn't be him. She moved across the country to get away from him.

Madge waved the guy over eagerly, and his large form towered over the table. His smile dazzled the rest of the table, just as she had been dazzled all those months ago.

His eyes met hers and softened slightly at the edges. "Hey, Catnip."

Gale.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **I had some extra time on my hands today, so I thought I'd just get things going with another chapter. I'll update on Wednesdays from now on, because that would be more organized than random spurts of writings.**

 **What are you thinking so far? I'd love to hear from you, it makes me a better writer.**

 **So, review please xx**

 **Till next time,**

 **~FourofSpades**


	3. Chapter Three

_**September, Senior Year of High School**_

" _You better bring her back in one piece, mister." Prim stated, crossing her tiny arms over her chest. She was being as threatening as a 12-year-old could, and it was taking all of Katniss' strength not to laugh at the picture._

" _I will," Gale promised, crossing a finger over his chest, "I promise not to let any harm come to your sister."_

" _Bye, Prim!" She called out over her shoulder as she shut the door behind them. Gale broke out into a wide grin as soon as they were out of sight, and Katniss shook her head and let out a laugh._

" _She's been getting really protective lately."_

 _Gale shrugged, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked to his truck parked across the street. "I think it's adorable. After all, you'll be doing the same thing once she starts dating boys." He shot her a knowing look, and she snorted._

" _Right, like that's happening anytime soon."_

 _She couldn't even picture her sister dating anyone, it just wasn't physically possible. She still slept with stuffed animals and tied her hair in ribbons. A boyfriend? Unheard of._

 _She was still pondering the fact as she climbed into the passenger side of the beat up Chevy, and Gale pressed a kiss to her temple to bring her back to reality._

" _Catnip, come on. Don't worry about it. When Prim finds a boyfriend, however long that may take, I have no doubts that you'll find a way to keep him in line."_

 _Katniss found herself nodding in agreement, and Gale started the truck. Just as they were about to back up, Katniss stopped him._

" _She doesn't have to keep you in line, right?" She asked, the statement coming out more serious than she'd intended, "You'd never hurt me."_

" _Of course not." He replied, no hesitation in his tone._

 _She believed him. She was seventeen, and in love with a boy that she believed loved her as much as she loved him._

 _Little did she know, their relationship would have a devastating end._

* * *

 _ **September, Freshman Year of University**_

It was impossible. He shouldn't have been there.

But there he was, his dark eyes locking hers in an intense gaze from the other side of the table. The table fell silent as the tension grew, not even Johanna daring to break it in fear of one of them snapping.

She held eye contact for another moment before nodding curtly in his direction. She refused to let any emotion seep into her voice.

"Hello, Gale."

She saw the remorse that hid in his eyes, and looked down at her plate, at her lap, everywhere that didn't hold reminders of what happened last spring.

"Katniss, I'm sorry—"

That was her breaking point.

"Excuse me," She said as she stood abruptly, nearly knocking over her glass in the process, though she was far past caring. Without looking back, she pushed past two boys standing at the entrance and ran to the exit.

* * *

Madge found her a few minutes later staring at the blank wall across from her bed. The mattress squeaked as she sat down at the edge, and she placed a hand on Katniss' arm.

"You want to talk about what happened in there?" She asked. Though she wasn't expecting much to come from the conversation, she wanted to at least try to get her to open up.

"Glimmer and Clove seem very nice." Katniss stated, her eyes not moving from the spot on the white space. Madge sighed, _at least she responded,_ which was more than she was expecting.

"Everyone down there is worried about you, you know."

"Why should they be? I'm fine."

Madge frowned, and stood in front of her, forcing Katniss to look at her. "When people can't even stand to be in a room with someone, obviously they are not 'fine'."

Katniss blinked. "I was just surprised to see him, is all."

Madge knew she was lying, but didn't want to cross a line on their second day of living together.

So she nodded, and let it slide.

"Okay," She said, standing up from the bed and giving Katniss' arm a pat. After giving her another once over quietly closed the door behind her and walked into the living room where the other girls were waiting anxiously.

"Well? How is she?" Annie asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Five bucks says they had a messy breakup." Johanna grinned as she leaned back into the couch.

"She's fine, but she doesn't want to talk about it." Madge sighed, pointedly ignoring Jo's comment. "But I'm not giving up. I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Clove raised an eyebrow. "And how may I ask are you going to accomplish such a feat?"

Madge straightened tilted her chin up and flashed them a smile.

"I'm going to talk to Gale."

* * *

"Madge, you're here!" Finnick yelled, pulling the blond into a hug. She let out a squeak as she was lifted off the ground, and he chuckled before placing her down on the ground. "What brings you here, Miss Undersee?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed past him to the couch where Peeta was on his laptop. She closed it without hesitation, and pointed to the door.

"I need to talk to Gale." She ordered, leaving no room for argument in her tone. "You and Peeta need to get out."

"Is this about what happened at dinner? Because I thought some shit would go down—"

He grin faded when he saw the glare from Madge, and cleared his throat before nodding to the door. "I guess we'll just hang out with Cato. Shall we, Peeta?"

The boy in question spluttered out his objection, but after seeing the look from Madge quickly ducked his head and exited the dorm.

"He's in his room, good luck!" he called out over his shoulder, closing the door behind him. The sound echoed for a moment as she stood in the middle of the empty living room, psyching herself up.

Once she was confident enough, she knocked on the door marked with a G and put on her sternest face.

"Come in," he called out. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and let herself into his bedroom.

He was sitting at his desk, shirtless. Her eyes lingered for a moment too long, and she had to shake her head to keep herself on track.

"What happened between you and Katniss?"

He frowned. "What did she tell you?"

She hesitated. "Well, nothing."

"Then nothing."

She huffed in annoyance. Talking with this boy wasn't getting any easier.

"Look, Gale, I want to set things right between you two. Can't you just tell me what happened and—"

"You can't fix this, okay?" He interrupted angrily, "I fucked everything up that day with Katniss, and we're never going to be the same. So back off, alright?"

He stood up and attempted to close the door on her, but she refused to leave without some kind of answer.

"What did you do? Lie? Cheat? There has to be something you can do or say."

He chuckled darkly. "What I did was so much worse. Trust me when I say you don't want to get involved."

Against her protests, he shut the door and she was left more confused than when she first arrived.

* * *

"Do you think I'm being too nosy?" She asked Peeta later on that night.

They were sitting in her bedroom, him on the beanbag and her on her bed.

He chuckled. "You're always too nosy."

She rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him. "I meant about this whole Gale and Katniss thing. Am I really supposed to just leave this be?"

He shrugged, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head.

"But don't you want her happy, Peeta?"

This comment caught him off guard, and he sat himself up on his elbows.

"Of course I want her to be happy," he said taking a deep breath, "But I think what's best for both of them right now is just to let them be."

She frowned, that was not the answer she was expecting from her best friend.

"Let them be?" she repeated, still unsure of the message.

He let out a yawn and nodded.

"Let them be."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **So now we know that something happened between Gale and Katniss, but what was it? How does Peeta feel about Katniss? Will Madge leave it alone, or will curiousity get the best of her?**

 **Leave some of your ideas in a review or pm, and maybe I'll let you in on some hints :)**

 **Till next time,**

 **~FourofSpades**


	4. Chapter Four

**Warnings: Teen drinking and panic attacks.**

 _ **October, Freshman year of University**_

 _ **Friday Night**_

"We're not having a repeat of last month's party, alright?" Johanna demanded as they pulled into the driveway of Gloss Emmans' home off campus. Already, they could hear the thump of the music coming from inside, and see the lights flashing through the windows. "That means no skittle bowl for you, Glimmer."

At the freshman party a few weeks earlier, Johanna had had to carry her out of the house after Glimmer had taken a handful of colourful pills from the communal bowl at the front door. The effects were hard on her body, and she was throwing up for the entire weekend afterwords.

The blond glanced up from the screen of her phone to roll her eyes. "Fine, Jo." She said, and paused for a moment before smirking. "But if I can't have that then you can't play strip poker. God knows where that'll get you tonight."

They narrowed their eyes at each other, until Johanna grew impatient and caved. "Fine, whatever." She wasn't about to have an argument with Glimmer over her partying habits just before they arrived.

As they all stepped out of Madge's car, she helped Clove get one of the coolers from the trunk and carry it inside to the kitchen that she was becoming all-too-familiar with.

"Hey, Jo," Gale greeted, coming in with the boys' own cooler. Finnick wasn't far behind, and he flashed Johanna a grin when he spotted her.

"Hiya, handsome," She said to Gale, peering in to see what was in the cooler, "What did you boys bring tonight?"

"No clue, we let Marvel pack them tonight. He could have put in iced tea for all we know."

She snorted, recalling his roommate's idiocy in past events.

"Hey Jojo, want to dance?" Finnick called out, holding up two shot glasses filled with what she assumed to be tequila, her drink of choice. She nodded and started on her waver there, but paused to hip bump Gale and shoot him a wink.

"See you later, handsome."

And with that, she strode off with Finnick to get the night started right.

* * *

Annie was completely lost.

She became distracted just as they walked in, and quickly got separated from their group. The crowd that she had been on the previous outskirts of was closing in, until she was pushed up against the wall.

The proximity was beginning to get to her, and it all became too much. Annie felt her chest begin to tighten.

No, not now. Not here.

It quickly became hard to breathe, and her head was swimming with words that she couldn't force her mouth to say.

She felt her chest tightening, and she couldn't think straight; all she needed was to get out as quickly as possible. She wasn't even in control of her bodily movements anymore.

Suddenly, a hand popped out of the crowd and grabbed her own, pulling her out of the jumble of bodies and through the front door.

"Hey, you're safe now," her savior whispered once they were away from prying eyes. Annie nodded, the fresh air and freedom to move around calming her down. When she turned to look at whomever had pulled her to safety, she was taken aback when she was met with the familiar sea-green eyes of Finnick Odair.

"Thanks, Finnick." She said, leaning against the tree as her heart rate began to go back to normal. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't gotten here."

He grinned at her, and chuckled lightly. "You're a strong girl, I'm sure you would have found your way out."

"I'm not so sure…" Annie whispered under her breath, but Finnick managed to catch it nonetheless.

"Do you get these often?" He asked, not quite sure how to place a label on what he had just witnessed.

"Panic attacks?" She said, pausing to ponder it for a moment before continuing, "If I'm in big crowds, or get separated from a group or something. Both of which occurred tonight, so that was the obvious trigger. I mean, it could just happen for no reason at all, but those are two things guaranteed to set me off."

He looked of for a moment in thought, and flashed her a smile before bowing.

"In that case, I will be your official escort from now on, Miss Cresta."

Annie laughed and shook her head. "That won't be necessary—"

He shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "That's so cute," he chuckled, "You think you can get rid of me. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me forever."

She knew she should have been rejecting the idea, but found that she liked the possibility of Finnick and her spending more time together.

She just didn't know why.

* * *

Katniss was having more fun than she thought she would have.

She wasn't a total lightweight, to Johanna's dismay. Her disappointment didn't last long, and she set out to see how far she could push Katniss.

So she ended up having rows of shot glasses shoved at her until she threw up into a nearby vase. Nonetheless, she earned a ton of credit for her efforts in the eyes of the upperclassmen, as well as her new friends, Cato and Marvel.

Madge on the other hand, was beginning to get wary of the situation. As the only sober one in the room, she felt that her judgment should be the primary one to follow.

"Okay, that's enough for today," She said, plucking the red cup from Katniss' hands, causing a bit of the brown liquid to slosh over the side. She began to protest the action, and Madge nearly gagged when she smelt a bit of her roommate's breath.

"Aww, come on! We were just about to start a game of Strip Poker!" Marvel pouted, his own beer nearly slipping out of his hands. He was swaying from side to side, ready to fall over at any given second. Madge debated getting him back to his dorm, but decided against it when Katniss began gagging again.

"No way, I need to get this girl back." Madge said, helping her up. She pushed past Marvel to the front door when she half-carried Katniss into the back seat. "Stay here, I'm going to check on the other girls."

She received an uncharacteristic giggle in response, and she rolled her eyes before shutting the door and jogging across the lawn to gather the group and see who wanted to head home.

She spotted Annie cuddled under the tree with a boy who she first thought to be Alex, the boy on the soccer team that she'd mention the week before, but under closer inspection, she saw that it was none other than Finnick.

But it wasn't the cocky, womanizer, player extraordinare Finnick that she was used to; instead, he seemed more level-headed and genuine. She must have been staring, because she made eye contact with him and he waved her over to their spot.

"Hey Madge, what are you doing out here?" Annie asked, untangling Finnicks arms from her shoulders.

She nodded over to her car parked in the driveway. "Katniss is too drunk to stand, so I'm taking her back now. Did you want to come?"

"Uh," she hesitated for a moment and shot a quick look at Finnick. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms out.

"You know, I think I might call it a night—"

"Finnick!" a female voice cried out that was so shrill, Madge could almost feel her eardrums shattering. "I didn't know you were here!"

And just like that, the mask was back on.

"Cashmere," He all but purred, and stood up to greet the stumbling blond in heels. She threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest.

They were sickening to look at.

Madge shot Annie a look, but she was merely standing up and grabbing her jacket.

"I think we should just leave them." She said softly, slipping her bag over her shoulder. Madge could tell she was trying to hide her disappointment in the fact that he was ditching her for another girl.

"I'll see you on Monday!" Finnick called out, walking out to the back, his arm draped around Cashmere's shoulders. They disappeared around the corner, and Annie tugged Madge over to her car where Katniss was sitting in the back.

"Why is this so soft?" Katniss asked, petting the blanket that she had apparently fished out from the trunk of her car. She had it in her lap, and was stroking the fuzzy material. "It reminds me of Buttercup. Except this cat isn't trying to kill me."

Madge let out a laugh. "Okay, I think you should get to bed now. Let me just run inside to ask the other girls—"

"They're not coming home anytime soon. Johanna's off with some guy. Glimmer and Marvel went God knows where, and last time I checked, Clove and Cato were making out in the broom closet." Annie replied, strapping herself in. "So I wouldn't bother."

"Typical," Madge sighed, "Whatever, let's get back."

* * *

"Your hair is so pretty," Katniss giggled as Madge helped her into her bedroom, nearly tripping over a pile of clothes in the process. "It reminds me of my sister Prim. Both of you are so sweet and helpful."

Madge nodded, not really sure where her drunken ramblings were going, but at least while she was talking, she wasn't throwing up.

"She's…" she scrunched her face up as she tried to remember, and Madge gently pushed her down onto her bed before attempting to tuck her in. "Fourteen! I was going to say 13, but then I remembered that her unlucky year was last year."

This made Madge's ears perk up. "Last year? What happened last year?"

"Gale happened," Katniss said, the smile slipping from her face. She stared off at a spot across the room for an extended minute, and Madge was just about to see if she was alright when suddenly her face contorted into anger. "It's all his fault!" She screamed out, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

Madge was taken aback by the outburst, but it was a long time coming. The two hadn't spoken a word to each other since the incident at dinner, and Katniss refused to speak about it with Madge. At least, when she was sober.

"It's his fault that she'll never be the same!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, and Madge opened her arms to allow Katniss a hug, which she gladly accepted. Katniss began sobbing into her shoulder, the makeup beginning to stain onto the sleeve of her dress, but she was past caring. Katniss' well-being was more important than a material object.

She'd been good the last few weeks, turning a blind eye to the cold shoulders and harsh glares. But she couldn't stand to see Katniss in so much pain. Even if Peeta had told her to stay out of their relationship, Madge couldn't take it any more.

If Gale didn't want to talk, and Katniss didn't want to talk, there was one person left to talk to.

Tomorrow, she would call Prim.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Sorry this is going up so late, but finals are upon us, and I don't have the time that I need to throw together a chapter anymore. That being said, I have one next Wednesday, which means I may not be posting a chapter.**

 **I sincerely apologize for this, but in the event that I don't, two chapters will be posted the week after.**

 **So now you kind of know what happened last spring, and can I just say that one of your guesses was super close? I was extremely impressed.**

 **All of your guesses were very interesting to read, so why don** **'t we do it again** **? Send what you think will happen next in a review or PM and if you guess right, I** **'** **ll give you some hints :)**

 **Till next time,**

 **~FourofSpades**


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